Houston Republicans sue to limit in-person and absentee voting options in Harris County

[RandySF]

A litigious conservative activist in Houston, the Harris County Republican party, and a number of Republican officials and candidates are asking the Texas Supreme Court to limit in-person and absentee voting options for Harris County voters during the pandemic.

The county, the state’s most populous and a major Democratic stronghold, began letting voters drop off absentee ballots Monday for the Nov. 3 general election at 11 annexes. In line with a directive from Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, the county also intends to begin in-person early voting Oct. 13.

Prominent activist Steve Hotze, as well as Wendell Champion, a Republican candidate for Congress; Sharon Hemphill, a Republican candidate for judge; and the local GOP chair, are suing to stop that, arguing Harris County Clerk Chris Hollins is overreaching the bounds of state election law. They’re asking the state’s highest civil court to order Harris County to not begin early voting until Oct. 19 — the date set by state law that Abbott extended by executive order, citing safety concerns — and not accept absentee ballots delivered in person until Nov. 3.

A longtime culture warrior on the right, Hotze has gone to court a number of times to challenge Abbott, Hollins and other elected officials over coronavirus-related restrictions — and lately over election procedures — with minimal success so far. An opponent of same-sex marriage, Hotze was a key figure in the Legislature’s 2017 fight over a “bathroom bill” that would have limited transgender Texans’ access to public facilities. He called Abbott’s staff earlier this year to ask that law enforcement “shoot to kill” rioters protesting after the police killing of George Floyd.

The new case comes less than a week after Hotze, along with a number of other top Republicans, challenged the governor for extending early voting in response to ongoing health concerns about the coronavirus pandemic. That case is pending before the Texas Supreme Court.

The conservative plaintiffs also argue that state law does not allow Hollins to permit voters to drop off their ballots at the 11 sites, a strategy they claim “creates an opportunity ripe for fraud.”



https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/28/houston-republicans-lawsuit-voting/

[cayugafalls]

1. The only way dump can win os to suppress the vote.

He will not win, because he will not suppress the vote.

We must win.

[Gothmog]

2. Steve Hotze is a major league asshole

This asshole used to try to vet GOP judges when we only had republican judges in Houston. He is a major league asshole. I had a case on appeal where a good GOP judge granted me a summary judgment in a big case. This judge happened to be female which somehow offended Hotze. Hotze ran an asshole whose platform was that women should not have power over men.